Things to do in Sydney this weekend
Find all the best events on Friday, Saturday and Sunday this weekend
The weekend can be a lot of things. It can be a time to decompress and treat yourself after a busy week. To make the most of your relaxation time, follow our guide to exploring Sydney solo or spend a day in a bliss bubble at Sydney’s best spas.
Or, get busy around town with these 101 fun things to do indoors, these wild Sydney walks, or these rocking drop-in dance classes. And if you like your city shaded by a leafy canopy, volunteer at this gardening drive on Sunday and help make Sydney a little greener.
Feeling famished from all the fun? Check out the best vegan restaurants in Sydney or carb load at this five-course pasta feast.
RECOMMENDED: Places to volunteer in Sydney.
Find the best things to do this weekend
City of Gold
Meyne Wyatt made his professional debut as an actor at Griffin Theatre in 2011’s Silent Disco. Now he’s returning with a semi-autobiographical work about an Indigenous actor from Kalgoorlie who angers his community by starring in a controversial Australia Day ad.
Classic Album Sundays Sydney
Ever thought of sitting in a darkened room and immersing yourself in the aural experience of one album? This is Classic Album Sundays, where an ever-changing, all-inclusive tribe of audiophiles gather to experience the unbroken journey of a well-loved record, from the first track to the last.
Beach Breaks Carnival
It might be a little chilly for even the bravest of Bondi Icebergs, but ocean lovers will still be congregating on the beach for this fully sick surf party with carnival rides, fried snacks, surfing comps and new additions to the Surfing Walk of Fame. Shakas!
Scandinavian Film Festival
From Noma to IKEA to the principles of hygge, the influence of Scandinavian culture continues to grow. So too the Scandinavian Film Festival, which returns this month for the sixth year, bringing the best of northern European cinema to audiences around Australia.
Lord of the Flies
Mia Wasikowska probably isn’t the first person you’d think of to cast as one of the young boys in Lord of the Flies, but director Kip Williams is giving the story a significant rethink. The characters will still be young boys going savage on a deserted island, but they won't look like your average 11-year-old boy.
Sydney Harbour 10k and 5k
The main drawcard for the Real Insurance Sydney Harbour 10k and 5k races is that they’re both real flat and real fast. If you’re looking to smash a personal record this weekend, this is a fun and scenic way to do it.
Winter Plant Festival
Marrickville creative space Stick n Stone is hosting a two-day festival dedicated to plants. It’ll be a centre of flora knowledge, with gardening experts sharing insights at talks and workshops about planting and nurturing home forests, alongside plenty of plant browsing.
Pasta Degustazione
Waterfront Italian restaurant Otto will be heating things up in the cooler months with this five-course pasta purveying dinner, which celebrates the Italian staple in all its glorious shapes and sizes. Enjoy five courses of hand-made pasta dishes that will satisfy all your winter carb cravings.
Banging Denmark
Banging Denmark is about a feminist academic called Ish and a pick-up artist called Jake. They’re not exactly fans of one another, but when Jake falls in love with a Danish librarian, he needs to call in Ish for advice on how to woo her in a less problematic way.
Kian
Castlemaine teenager Kian's best-known song, ‘Waiting’, reached the Triple J top 20 in 2018’s Hottest 100, and was the first song he ever wrote at the age of 14. Now aged 16, the Victorian hip-hop and indie-pop singer will be sharing his shining melodies and easy vocals with Sydney.
Oscar and Lucinda
Peter Carey’s colonial love story follows the meeting between obsessive gamblers Oscar Hopkins and Lucinda Leplastrier, who make a bet that Lucinda cannot build a cathedral of pure glass and have it delivered to the outback in time for Good Friday.
Whiteley
With a score by Elena Kats-Chernin and libretto by Justin Fleming, this opera tells the story of Australian artist Brett Whiteley and his brilliant wife Wendy. Digital projections will bring his artworks to life across 12 massive, moving LED panels.
The Torrents
You probably haven’t heard of The Torrents, but in 1955 it was the joint winner of the Playwrights’ Advisory Board Competition with Australia’s most famous play, Summer of the Seventeenth Doll. It’s been rarely performed since, making it a hugely neglected classic – and look, that’s probably because it wasn’t written by a man.
BridgeClimb Sunset Sessions
Throughout July and August, BridgeClimb Sydney will be hosting their Sunset Sessions, where brave climbers will be treated to a spectacular sunset on top of the Harbour Bridge with a soundtrack of acoustic melodies and popular covers played live. Date night sorted.
Catch Me If You Can
Catch Me If You Can follows precocious teenager Frank Abagnale Jr who, armed with a bucketful of charm and millions of dollars in forged cheques, cons himself into the life of his dreams – until FBI agent Carl Hanratty comes calling. It’s a big story with musical muscle behind it.
Caught Stealing: The Art of Misappropriation
The National Art School is built on the site of the old Darlinghurst Gaol, a place where people were imprisoned and even hanged for their crimes. So it's somewhat fitting that this exhibition is all about artists who use theft as part of their creative practice, and are deliberately caught in the act.
Teas of Korea
If you crave a cuppa regardless of weather or time of day then you’ll be keen to join this tea masterclass. Local leaf experts Tea Craft have just arrived home from a tea investigation in Korea, and they’ve brought bundles of exciting blends back in their carry bags for you to taste.
A View from the Bridge
Iain Sinclair first directed the play for the Old Fitz Theatre in 2017 and picked up four Sydney Theatre Awards. Now he's bringing the show to the Ensemble Theatre, with several members of the original Sydney cast, including Helpmann nominee Zoe Terakes and Janine Watson.
Jacob's Creek Kitchen Collective
Chefs will be cooking up a storm on Bennelong Lawn, where Kitchen Collective students can absorb cooking knowledge before donning aprons and replicating the dishes. You'll be going up against the clock and other teams, but this is an experience for home chefs of all abilities, and it’s really all about the feast at the end.
Once
Sydney has had to wait a while to get to see Once. The musical, based on the 2007 Irish romantic comedy movie of the same name, opened in New York in 2011 and headed to Melbourne in 2014. It's finally our turn, with this new production by Richard Carroll, director of the massively successful Calamity Jane.
The Invisible Hand
It’s almost impossible to imagine life without the internet, but with it has come the blurring of personal and public boundaries. Nowhere is this more obvious than the Asia Pacific region, where internet usage is now the highest in the world. The Invisible Hand brings together Asian Pacific artists to explore the threat of Big Tech.
Get your crispy chook fix
The best fried chicken in Sydney
It’s official. Sydney is obsessed with fried chicken. Are we in the American Deep South? No. Does that matter? Maybe. Are we doing it anyway? You’re damn right we are: this is deep-fried meat for crying out loud, and we’re all about it. Here are our favourite joints (getit?) in town right now, doing chicken the way – our fictitious American/Korean/Indonesian – mamma used to do.